Rokita: Continuing to Fight the Opioid Epidemic

Congressman Todd Rokita, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed three concurring bills — which originated from his subcommittee — addressing America’s opioid epidemic:

“As Chairman of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee, I understand the devastating impact the opioid epidemic is having on our future generations,” said Congressman Todd Rokita. “Congress must take action to stop this crisis, and we can do this by helping ensure that our communities have the resources and education needed to end this crippling epidemic.”

As Chairman of K-12, Congressman Rokita has been a leader in finding new solutions to fixing the opioid epidemic among our youth. Earlier this year, Rokita chaired a hearing, “Close to Home: How Opioids are Impacting Our Communities”, which examined solutions to keep our communities safe from the opioid crisis. Rokita has also hosted several School Safety Summits that specifically focused on the opioid epidemic and proposed ideas for schools to become a safer place for our students.

You can check out more information on Congressman Rokita’s School Safety Summits here and more information about the bills below:

H.R. 5889, Recognizing Early Childhood Trauma Related to Substance Abuse Act of 2018, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide information to professionals working with young children on ways to identify and respond to substance abuse related trauma, in turn promoting safety for all children by lessening the long-term negative impacts.

H.R. 5890, Assisting States’ Implementation of Plans of Safe Care Act, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide states with guidance to support their implementation of safe care assurance plans, including analysis, addressing state-identified challenges, best practices, and collaboration.

H.R. 5891, Improving the Federal Response to Families Impacted by Substance Use Disorder Act, which would establish an interagency task force to develop a strategy on how federal agencies can implement a coordinated approach to responding to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on the existing programs that support infants, children, and their families.